To conclude our week of those companies in the multifamily industry that are striving to make an impact in not only the business world, but also in the charitable work of giving back to the community, I found it fitting to highlight our company, CLASS Leasing.
Our organization that we partnership with is Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA). Each year we plan a fun-filled afternoon of activities for those children that so wish to participate in the activity center of one of the CHOA hospitals. This afternoon allows the children that are receiving treatment to get away from the hospital rooms and into a room filled with art making, game playing and winning prizes. It is a great opportunity to bring a short burst of joy and excitement to children and their families that often times may find it hard to just spend a few minutes laughing and playing. This is definitely an experience to be a part of and something that we will continue doing year after year.
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Mid-America Apartments
Day 4 of our charitable businesses in the multifamily industry highlights Mid-America Apartments (MAA). MAA was initially founded in 1973 as The Cates Company and became Mid-America Apartments in 1993.
For over 15 years MAA has been operating the Open Arms Foundation, which is a corporate charity serving those in need that must travel away from home in order to receive medical treatment. The Open Arms Foundation provides temporary housing in a multitude of cities throughout the country for those families that become displaced from their permanent homes, as result of a family member needing specialized medical treatment in a different city. The housing provided is free of cost to the families and seeks to help alleviate a small piece of the families stress and financial burdens associated with a family member becoming ill. This is an incredible foundation that MAA has established and I can only imagine how much this is helped those families in need.
Great job MAA!
CLASS Leasing
For over 15 years MAA has been operating the Open Arms Foundation, which is a corporate charity serving those in need that must travel away from home in order to receive medical treatment. The Open Arms Foundation provides temporary housing in a multitude of cities throughout the country for those families that become displaced from their permanent homes, as result of a family member needing specialized medical treatment in a different city. The housing provided is free of cost to the families and seeks to help alleviate a small piece of the families stress and financial burdens associated with a family member becoming ill. This is an incredible foundation that MAA has established and I can only imagine how much this is helped those families in need.
Great job MAA!
CLASS Leasing
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Atlanta Apartment Association
Our multifamily business that we will be highlighting today for day 3 of those giving back to their community is the Atlanta Apartment Association.
The Atlanta Apartment Association (AAA) was founded in 1975 and is currently one of the largest apartment associations in the country, as well as an affiliate of the National Apartment Association. The Atlanta Apartment Association "represents over 1,600 member companies consisting of 400 companies managing 330,000+ apartment homes, and over 1,200 businesses that provide products and services to the industry." How the AAA gives back to the metro area is done is a very unique way that gets the community actively involved as well. For over 25 years the AAA has been hosting an annual food drive, the Can Can Ball, that has become the largest food drive in the country! The Can Can Ball benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank and in 2010 along, the event raised $157,800, allowing the Food Bank to provide 252,480 pounds of food to those in need. This is an incredible cause and hopefully will be one that AAA continues for years and years to come.
Great work AAA!
CLASS Leasing
The Atlanta Apartment Association (AAA) was founded in 1975 and is currently one of the largest apartment associations in the country, as well as an affiliate of the National Apartment Association. The Atlanta Apartment Association "represents over 1,600 member companies consisting of 400 companies managing 330,000+ apartment homes, and over 1,200 businesses that provide products and services to the industry." How the AAA gives back to the metro area is done is a very unique way that gets the community actively involved as well. For over 25 years the AAA has been hosting an annual food drive, the Can Can Ball, that has become the largest food drive in the country! The Can Can Ball benefits the Atlanta Community Food Bank and in 2010 along, the event raised $157,800, allowing the Food Bank to provide 252,480 pounds of food to those in need. This is an incredible cause and hopefully will be one that AAA continues for years and years to come.
Great work AAA!
CLASS Leasing
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Lane Company
Day 2 of our multifamily industry week of giving back highlights Atlanta-based Lane Company.
Established in 1974 Lane Company is recognized as an industry leader in property management. Lane Company gives back to the community in a multitude of ways from an annual food drive that supplies millions of meals for those less fortunate, to working with an extensive list of Atlanta area businesses and organizations to provide for those in need. In addition Lane Company launched a nonprofit corporation called Community Life Concepts that strives to enhighten the quality of living for those residents in low-income housing.
Lane Company is a great example of a company that prides itself on giving back to the Atlanta area.
Awesome job Lane Company!
CLASS Leasing
Established in 1974 Lane Company is recognized as an industry leader in property management. Lane Company gives back to the community in a multitude of ways from an annual food drive that supplies millions of meals for those less fortunate, to working with an extensive list of Atlanta area businesses and organizations to provide for those in need. In addition Lane Company launched a nonprofit corporation called Community Life Concepts that strives to enhighten the quality of living for those residents in low-income housing.
Lane Company is a great example of a company that prides itself on giving back to the Atlanta area.
Awesome job Lane Company!
CLASS Leasing
Monday, July 25, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Aspen Heights
This week we will be highlighting those in multifamily that are taking the initiative to not only provide excellent service for their customers, but are also going one step further in providing for causes outside the industry.
Aspen Heights is a student housing community in College Station, Texas that essentially revolutionized the student housing market by developing an actual neighborhood of apartments. Aspen Heights put together a program titled "Aspen Heights in Africa," whereby for every lease signed, Aspen Heights provides housing and education for individuals subjected to severe poverty in Africa. This is a great example of giving back to those less fortunate and incorporating it into the multifamily industry.
Awesome job Aspen Heights!
CLASS Leasing
Aspen Heights is a student housing community in College Station, Texas that essentially revolutionized the student housing market by developing an actual neighborhood of apartments. Aspen Heights put together a program titled "Aspen Heights in Africa," whereby for every lease signed, Aspen Heights provides housing and education for individuals subjected to severe poverty in Africa. This is a great example of giving back to those less fortunate and incorporating it into the multifamily industry.
Awesome job Aspen Heights!
CLASS Leasing
Friday, July 22, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Facebook Page Tip
Here is a good tidbit of information for any leasing specialist that is looking to give their property's Facebook Page a little personality. There is nowhere stating that a Facebook Page needs to necessarily be titled as the property's name. Think of something that will make the property stand out other than just the community name. If your property has won awards for excellence, then think of a catchy slogan, such as your property being the "Best Of The Best." There are plenty of places on the actual page for the property's name, so make yours unique to catch attention and give your page a fighting chance of accumulating likes. On the subject of likes, it is important to know that you can only change your Facebook Page title if you have less than 100 likes. Once your page crosses the 100 like threshold, then Facebook will not allow you to alter your page name.
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Friday, July 15, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Increasing Craigslist Leads
During the marketing portion of our training, one of the most important topics that I thoroughly cover is the posting of Craigslist ads for apartments. Craigslist is an incredibly advantageous marketing tool, because not only is it effective, but most importantly, it is absolutely free!
There are many more complicated layers to posting ads on Craigslist than just simply logging-on in the morning and posting an ad and being done with it. I always harp on the fact that Craigslist will only be as beneficial as you make it, in that posting one time a day is basically a complete waste of time. This statement is especially true if your property is located in a large city where Craigslist is a widely used apartment marketing tool, such as Los Angeles, where on average, there are 30,000 apartment postings PER DAY! Although this is an extreme example, if one were to post only one ad in the morning, that ad would be pushed back to page 4 or 5 within the hour. With this being said it is most beneficial to post multiple ads throughout the day in order to get a gauge on response time in terms of when most people are searching for apartments on Craigslist in your area. Post an ad first thing in the morning, one at lunch, another at mid-afternoon and one right before leaving the office. This will allow for a stronger presence on Craigslist, therefore increasing the likelihood of an individual stumbling across your ad.
Once you've established the number of ads that you are going to aim to post on a daily basis, then it comes down to how exactly you are going to draw attention to your particular posts. Scrolling through a full page of Craigslist ads can be quite nauseating, because there are 100 posts on each page with all of the titles looking remotely identical. With this being said the best thing one can do is scroll through a page of ads and figure out ways to make a title unique. Simply typing a title stating a phrase like "Apartment For Rent" in normal caps is not exactly what I would classify as an attention getter. Make the title something that will stand out and change the font up a bit to an attention grabber, like all caps. "DOWNTOWN LIVING AT ITS FINEST" will certainly present a higher likelihood of getting clicked on than the previous example I used, because it is a statement that will stand out amongst all of the listings.
As equally important as the title, if not more so, is the attachment of pictures to your listing. I will say right now as someone that not only teaches others how to post on Craigslist, but also as a Craigslist user, I WILL NOT click on a posting if there are not pictures attached. Pictures are literally the only way to make a listing unique, in that without them, the listing is just a description that is probably very similar to every other ad that one could possibly click on. When I am looking for any merchandise on Craigslist, I typically bypass all of the words in the description and scroll straight down to the bottom to see what the product looks like. The pictures really and truly make the ad and I can guarantee you that if you were to post the exact same ad using different contact names, one with pictures and one without, no one would call after seeing the ad without pictures over the ad with.
These are just some easy steps to take in order to increase the odds of receiving traffic from a Craigslist ad. Just keep in mind that all it takes is one phone call from an ad leading to a lease to make the five minutes it takes to post the ad completely worth it.
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
There are many more complicated layers to posting ads on Craigslist than just simply logging-on in the morning and posting an ad and being done with it. I always harp on the fact that Craigslist will only be as beneficial as you make it, in that posting one time a day is basically a complete waste of time. This statement is especially true if your property is located in a large city where Craigslist is a widely used apartment marketing tool, such as Los Angeles, where on average, there are 30,000 apartment postings PER DAY! Although this is an extreme example, if one were to post only one ad in the morning, that ad would be pushed back to page 4 or 5 within the hour. With this being said it is most beneficial to post multiple ads throughout the day in order to get a gauge on response time in terms of when most people are searching for apartments on Craigslist in your area. Post an ad first thing in the morning, one at lunch, another at mid-afternoon and one right before leaving the office. This will allow for a stronger presence on Craigslist, therefore increasing the likelihood of an individual stumbling across your ad.
Once you've established the number of ads that you are going to aim to post on a daily basis, then it comes down to how exactly you are going to draw attention to your particular posts. Scrolling through a full page of Craigslist ads can be quite nauseating, because there are 100 posts on each page with all of the titles looking remotely identical. With this being said the best thing one can do is scroll through a page of ads and figure out ways to make a title unique. Simply typing a title stating a phrase like "Apartment For Rent" in normal caps is not exactly what I would classify as an attention getter. Make the title something that will stand out and change the font up a bit to an attention grabber, like all caps. "DOWNTOWN LIVING AT ITS FINEST" will certainly present a higher likelihood of getting clicked on than the previous example I used, because it is a statement that will stand out amongst all of the listings.
As equally important as the title, if not more so, is the attachment of pictures to your listing. I will say right now as someone that not only teaches others how to post on Craigslist, but also as a Craigslist user, I WILL NOT click on a posting if there are not pictures attached. Pictures are literally the only way to make a listing unique, in that without them, the listing is just a description that is probably very similar to every other ad that one could possibly click on. When I am looking for any merchandise on Craigslist, I typically bypass all of the words in the description and scroll straight down to the bottom to see what the product looks like. The pictures really and truly make the ad and I can guarantee you that if you were to post the exact same ad using different contact names, one with pictures and one without, no one would call after seeing the ad without pictures over the ad with.
These are just some easy steps to take in order to increase the odds of receiving traffic from a Craigslist ad. Just keep in mind that all it takes is one phone call from an ad leading to a lease to make the five minutes it takes to post the ad completely worth it.
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Thursday, July 14, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Facebook Page Contest
We currently are in the midst of a Facebook Page contest amongst all of our leasing specialists throughout the country. The object of the contest consists of five main parts that the leasing specialists can be rewarded for: creating the page for the property; consistently updating the page with useful information; creating a contest for the page in order to get active participation; obtaining interactions from residents/prospects on the page; accumulating as many new likes on the page as possible. This contest was designed to not only present the opportunity to our leasing specialists of obtaining great prizes, but to also give them the chance to educate themselves on the importance and benefits of a property Facebook Page. Here is an awesome example of how one of our leasing specialists is going to great heights to get active involvement on her property's Facebook Page. Great job Natalie!
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Neglected Email Leads
Often times an email lead at an apartment community goes unanswered, or just becomes lost in the wash of all the happenings in a leasing office. A typical apartment community that is tied in with any ILS may get anywhere between 10 to 20 prospective email leads each day, which can add up very quickly if these are not answered promptly. Just as a phone call would be answered when the phone begins to ring, an email lead should be given the same attentiveness and importance that a phone call receives. In addition the email lead should be addressed just as a phone call is addressed in that the prospects questions should be answered and not just supplied with a generic email sent to every email lead. Tara Furiani wrote a great piece for Multifamily Insiders that really breaks down the steps to writing effective follow-up to an email lead that will increase the chances of securing a lease.
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Monday, July 11, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Youtube Channel
We are in the process of updating our main website, as well as beginning to jump into all realms of social media and our newest addition is the CLASS Leasing Youtube Channel. Checkout the video and channel here!
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Google +
I recently did a write-up about the "Google +1" system that Google introduced, whereby any particular posts that a user would like to have attached to their Google profile, they are able to by simply clicking the +1 button next to the search item. In doing so, any followers of this users profile will be able to see their search preferences and recommended search items.
The "Google +" system is different and on a whole other realm of complexity. The Google + system was released and designed to actually compete with Facebook as a similar aspect of social media sharing. Just as users of Facebook have friends and social circles, Google + will allow users the same capabilities in a very organized format. Google released this blog last week that features informational videos about the features of Google + that could very easily rival Facebook's concepts. The real question will be with Facebook nearing 670 million users, is there enough room in the social media network for two major interactive sharing sites?
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
Friday, July 1, 2011
CLASS Leasing: Happy 4th Of July!!
I hope everyone has a great 4th of July weekend! Take the time to celebrate the great things that come with this holiday weekend: grilling out; spending time with friends and family; safe travels; and of course, fireworks!
Enjoy!
CLASS Leasing
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